Globe Corner Blogs

Ólöf Arnalds and Mugison played a few songs for a crowd who braved the elements on Saturday the 13th. For anyone who missed it, here’s a clip of Ólöf singing for us:

Iceland --photo by Lisa

I am absurdly excited  about the upcoming Viking Invasion of Boston. From March 11-17,  Boston will be hosting A Taste of Iceland. This festival of Icelandic culture and entertainment is bringing Icelandic musicians, DJs, acclaimed chefs, and a film festival to various venues in and around Boston in celebration of all things Icelandic…and Icelandair’s non-stop service to Reykjavik. You can even enter a drawing to win a trip to Reykjavik! The full schedule of events can be found at the “Iceland Naturally” website.

Certain staff members of the Globe Corner have already expressed their love for all things Icelandic: from the delicious and addictive Skyr, Arnaldur Indridason’s Inspector Erlendur Series, and The Blue Lagoon (a geothermal spa) to the always interesting Iceland Airwaves Music Festival. We’re so excited about the festival that we’re taking 15% off all books about and maps of Iceland through March 17th. And as an extra bonus,  Icelandic singer Ólöf Arnalds will be dropping by the store on Saturday, March 13th at 4:30 p.m. to play a few songs for us!

The Author Eats Skyr Unaware of the Lurking Camera on a Bus Somewhere in Iceland

Iceland is often described as a magical place. And for the average tourist there – as opposed to the average banker these days – I would have to agree with that assessment. The ethereal landscape particularly lends itself to Lord of the Rings-type fantasies. Waterfalls spill down the green hills into valleys of pastel wildflowers and hot springs. Snow-capped volcanoes, seething sulfur pits, and the occasional fjord pop up every now and then. Don’t be ashamed if you envision yourself sporting chain mail and downing flagons of mead after a hard day of discovering North America and slaying dragons. It seems like one could make quite a living offering Viking reenactments or selling Merlin costumes. And apparently they do. Continue Reading »

The Ends of the Earth -by Elizabeth Kolbert

The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts currently has an exhibit entitled To The Ends Of the Earth, Painting and the Polar Landscape. It features over 50 paintings and photographs by artists who journeyed to the Arctic and Antarctica during the 19th and 20th centuries. I have always wanted to see the Aurora-Borealis, and even have traveled to Iceland five times in an attempt to see the phenomena. Unfortunately, I have never seen it due to adverse weather situations. After viewing the slide show on the Museum’s website, I figure that this will be a sure-fire way to finally see the Aurora-Borealis…or at least of painting of it! The exhibit is running through the first of March, so make sure to trek through the ice and snow to catch it before the warm spring months come and take it away.

Pets by Bragi Olafsson

Yes, The Pets is a recent Icelandic novel, written by Bragi Olafsson, a former member The Sugarcubes. Maybe that is the reason why the book title sounds a little like an indie band name from far North. The book, being small in volume, is engaging and with each page the plot takes a more unexpected twist. It also happens that the main character who narrates the story, spends probably what might be the most meaningful hours of his life hiding under his own bed. I would say that this book is very similar to a bizarre dream that starts make a lot of sense after you wake up and drink a requsite cup of coffee. As the two plot lines merge together you cannot even tell for sure when exactly the true meaning of things gets subtly revealed to you. As always, remember that things are not always what they seem to be, and be prepared for an unexpected ending!

Voices --by Arnaldur Indridason

“Jesus,” Henry said. “A murder!”
“You have murders in Iceland?” his wife, Cindy [...] asked, glancing over at the Icelandair brochure on the bedside table.
“Rarely,” he said, trying to smile.
(excerpted from Voices)

I didn’t expect to get so wrapped up in a series of murder mysteries. There has to be some secret to this one because I rarely read when I cook, and Arnaldur Indridason’s books made me do just so. The main characters, three detectives from the Reykjavik police, are too different to stick together in the world outside the investigations they lead. The lives of Erlendur, the senior detective, perfectly bred and American-educated Sigurdur Oli, and the amazing cook and housewife Elinborg would have never met if Iceland didn’t have truly mysterious criminal cases popping up now and then. In some strange way those murders remind me of (please, don’t laugh) those wooden matreshka dolls — you open it and there is a new one sitting inside, which contains yet another one, and another one, and so on until you have found the tiniest, the very last little doll. I would say that’s a different plot recipe from a usual missing puzzle piece-type paperback thriller.

Continue Reading »

Project: Iceland: Music, Art, Fashion

I really need to unsubscribe from Icelandair’s email list. Their emails always appear in my inbox to taunt me just when I am having severe wanderlust attacks — and their deals are just too tempting. Even though I just got back from a two day layover in Reykjavik on my way back from Europe, I want to go back for one of best music festivals in the world: Iceland Airwaves. I have gone before and always returned back to work the next day exhausted, giddy, and carrying an armload of new CDs. But because I went broke in the Balkans this summer, I had resigned all aspirations of attending Iceland Airwaves in October and had even kind of forgot about it.

Then we received a new book yesterday. As I picked it up to put it on the shelf, all I could think was “OH NO, this is not fair!” Its title is Project: Iceland: Music, Art, Fashion and it is a book of photos and interviews of Iceland’s art community. Continue Reading »

Reykjavik Graffiti--photo by Nicole

Keflavik Airport. Reykjavik. Iceland. For an hour more, anyway. My trip here is coming to a rapid conclusion, and I am sitting at an internet station (free- thank the Norse gods!) in the slick, airy Scandinavian airport terminal. Sandwiched between a Kaffir coffee shop (the Icelandic Starbucks, according to Lonely Planet) and the ubiquitous Viking gift shop, I am trying to think of eventful travel exploits worthy of reportage. Continue Reading »

Being a procrastinator, it is very odd for me to start thinking about packing my suitcase more than a month in advance of my departure. I typically pack at the last minute, having perfected my method of loading my clothes directly into my suitcase from the dryer. However, I am flying myriad budget airlines in Europe, and due to their luggage requirements, I can only take 20 kg with me! Usually this is not a problem, however my itinerary is a little “scattered.” Continue Reading »